The clock is ticking more and more loudly for the Bengals and Hamilton County.
The Bengals have until June 30 to extend their current lease at Paycor Stadium. Absent an extension, the lease expires after the 2025 season.
Via Chris Wetterich of the Cincinnati Business Courier, the county has released its latest proposed lease terms, along with the most recent proposal from the Bengals.
Hamilton County has proposed a $210 million contribution from the Bengals toward an $830 million renovation of the venue. The county would pay $270 million and the state would contribute $350 million.
The team has proposed spending $200 million of its own money, but with $45 million of that coming from money spent “years ago” on renovations. The county and the state would spend at least $308 million each.
The county proposes extending the lease by 20 years. The team wants a five-year extension.
Even under the county’s proposal, the Bengals would pay only 25.3 percent of the total amount. At a time when teams are paying half (and more) for new or renovated venues, that seems like a good deal.
If the two sides can’t strike a deal by June 30, the countdown will start toward an expiration of the lease. Although Bengals executive Katie Blackburn has said "[w]e could, I guess, go wherever we wanted after this year,” it’s unclear where the Bengals would go.
